BOSTON (AP) – With concerns about global warming heating up, lawmakers are increasingly looking for ways to spur the use of “green building” technology.
A slew of bills are currently pending on Beacon Hill to encourage the construction of energy efficient buildings, from offering green building tax credits to creating a central information clearinghouse on sustainable building products and methods.
The goal? Driving development without overtaxing the environment.
“About a third of all global warming emissions are attributable to the heating, cooling and lighting of building, so it’s imperative that we address this,” said Sue Reid, a staff attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation.
Beacon Hill is beginning to get the message, she said. Last session there were just a handful of green building-related bills. This session there’s been more than a dozen filed already, according to Reid.
Gov. Deval Patrick has already weighed in on the issue, announcing his administration will require private developers to reduce the greenhouse gases their large-scale projects will produce.
And on Friday, the Senate’s Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change will hold a special hearing in Northhampton on green building technology.
The goal of the hearing is “to provide a forum for legislators, top environmental experts and the region’s citizens to discuss the importance of green buildings, both for short-term environmental benefits and our sustainability in the future,” said Senator Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton, the committee’s chairman.
Supporters say green building design improves indoor air quality, helps conserve water, taps into alternative energy sources like solar panels, and provides better insulation.
Besides being environmentally-friendly, green buildings can been a smart investment. Although they can add three percent to the cost of a new building, that money can be recouped in five to ten years in saved energy expenses.
Some of the pending “green building” bills at the Statehouse would:
– Create a state Division of Sustainable Building Design to provide a central information clearinghouse on sustainable building products and methods;
– Create green building income and excise tax credits;
– Boost the state reimbursement rate for communities that build energy efficient school buildings;
– Require the state to integrate renewable energy technologies and sustainable, high performance design concepts into buildings and facilities that are owned or leased by the state or the University of Massachusetts.
In Boston, city officials are already moving to require private developers to follow strict guidelines to make their large buildings more environmentally friendly.
The standards, to be required for all projects of 50,000 square feet or larger, would promote, for example, the use of efficient heating and cooling systems, recycled building materials and careful separation and disposal of waste
Under Patrick’s plan, projects large enough to warrant a state environmental review will be required to estimate the greenhouse gases their projects would produce, and reduce them with measures like energy efficient lighting, alternative fuels, or commuter shuttles.
Patrick has also signed an executive order requiring agencies to reduce their energy consumption 20 percent in five years and 35 percent by 2020. It also requires agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent over the next five years and 80 percent by 2050.
Advocates say all the attention on green buildings is needed.
“Green buildings are an essential component of any effective strategy to address global warming,” Reid said.
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